The present invention relates to a pull-out guide assembly for a drawer comprising a first rail and at least one second rail. Arranged between those two rails is at least one running carriage having a bearing group with load-transmitting elements, preferably rollers, rolling bodies and/or balls. The load-transmitting elements guide the bearing group both in a vertical and also in a horizontal direction.
The invention further concerns a running carriage of such a pull-out guide assembly and an article of furniture with a pull-out guide assembly of the type to be described.
Pull-out guide assemblies for drawers of that kind can be both in the form of a single extension with a support rail to be mounted on the body of the article of furniture and a pull-out rail to be mounted on opposite sides of the drawer. The guide assemblies can also be in the form of a full extension guide assembly in which a middle rail is disposed between the pull-out rail rails and the support rails. The pull-out guide assemblies permit smooth running of the drawer or a compartment shelf with a high level of load-bearing capacity. In the closed condition of the drawer, particularly when a high level of loading is involved, the foremost load-transmitting elements of the running carriage displaceable between the rails are considerably loaded. If plastic rollers are employed as load-transmitting elements, those rollers can suffer deformation with time and as a result detrimentally affect the running characteristics of the pull-out guide assembly.
AT 365 433 discloses a full extension guide for drawers, wherein a carriage is arranged between the support rail associated with the body of the article of furniture and the middle rail. In the displacement travel of the rails, a rolling body associated with the carriage is movable beyond the end of the support rail.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,531 discloses a telescopic extension means for drawers, wherein a roller sliding bearing is arranged between the rails. In the closed position of the rails, all rollers bear against the support rail, while in the opening movement some rollers can be brought out of engagement from the support rail.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose a pull-out guide assembly of the general kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, having an improved durability and functionality.